Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 271 Location: Ottawa, Canada
Sat Aug 23, 2008 2:50 pm
If you are willing to spend 300 on the 750, if you were able to bump up your budget, you coiuld gat a TomTom 730 for another $50 at CircuitCity at the moment. Possibly cheaper from Amazon.com.
For the 730, the IQ feature seems good, but now I'm seeing more negative points about the TT, such as with the PC software and creating routes...seems the software must use the TT device to create the route.
If you're planning to create routes on your computer then keep in mind the Nuvi 255w doesn't support that feature at all, and the necessary software doesn't come with the 750 (although most who ask for it will get a copy).
I'm biased towards the 330-S because I bought one recently.
-Consumer Reports just gave the 330-S a Best Buy rating.
-you could say it has all the features you "need" and none you don't.
-for folks like me who want flexibility and control over their routes, along with easy route planning and saving routes, I believe TomTom is a good choice. Using third party programs to plan routes with TomTom and Google Maps is excellent.
-Consumer Reports says Garmin's detour function is inferior, and you can't exclude a specific road from a route.
-I've customized my car icon, the start up image, and the colors in my maps. You can even customize the menu screens and put your most used functions where you want them.
-it should be noted if you have a TomTom such as the 330-S with Text to Speech, you can't use the much-hyped custom voices unless you want to lose the text to speech functionality. I knew that before I made the purchase. Hopefully TT will come out with some custom text to speech voices soon.
-with the 330-S if you want traffic, you buy a separate receiver for $100, but you get 1 year of service with it. That's roughly a $60 value.
-I don't think many folks know what they're missing with the 330-S's excellent "Easyport" mount because so few folks have tried it. It's only on a few TomTom models. The suction cup is designed like a screw which you simply turn to lock down. The mount folds into the back of the unit.
-the volume on my unit is very loud.
-I've found TT customer service to be very good. I've called a few times during the week and got knowledgeable people on the phone within about 2 minutes. They helped with TT's "newest map guarantee". Also, for those who care, the reps were all American.
For the 730, the IQ feature seems good, but now I'm seeing more negative points about the TT, such as with the PC software and creating routes...seems the software must use the TT device to create the route.
As far as TT go, I have an older XL ONE model and am very pleased with it. I beleive Best Buy has them for around $150 now. The XL 330 and XL 330S are new er models with good features. going higher in the TT line you get the IQ stuff, and lane guidance.
But as I said, I'm quiete pleased with the flexibility the TT gives me to customize it. Also, I can plan routes offline on my computer using a free program named TYRE, then download them to the TT. Works fine.
Joined: 12 May 2008 Posts: 271 Location: Ottawa, Canada
Sun Aug 24, 2008 11:11 am
cuc tu wrote:
For the 730, the IQ feature seems good, but now I'm seeing more negative points about the TT, such as with the PC software and creating routes...seems the software must use the TT device to create the route.
Search long enough and you will find plenty of negative about any GPS product. In the end, I suggest you actually play around with a Garmin and TT side-by-side. Plan a couple of routes you know really well, see what they do differently. Test a few POI searches, change some options, etc. You'll soon find one you prefer.
Most people say Garmin has ease-of-use and POIs, whereas TomTom has better customization, and more features for the same $$.
The one down-side of the 330 series is the lack of a SD port -- which is not a huge deal, except if you want to add maps such as Europe or Australia -- then you have to back the unit up, wipe it clean, load the new maps, and then do it all in reverse all over again when you return. The older XL series has the SD port making new map additions far easier -- run NA from the unit, and Europe (or Australia or Mexico from the card).
For the 730, the IQ feature seems good, but now I'm seeing more negative points about the TT, such as with the PC software and creating routes...seems the software must use the TT device to create the route.
No you are wrong.
There are excellent (+ free) 3rd party softwares like Tyre to build routes.
I installed tons of stuffs on my TT just using COPY/PASTE.
I didn't want to answer your post at first because I knew your mind was already set into Garmin.
To help you more in your decision:
- If you are more technically inclined, like to learn & improvise, TomTom is a better choice. TomTom is also very fast in satellite acquisition, map refreshing, route calculations & recalculations.
- If you just want to click and go, both are fine.
- If POI is a must, Garmin is the way. But for this one, I would rather buy a HP which has 12 million POI entries against Garmin's 6 millions.
If you happen to prefer Mac or Linux for a PC (even if you don't own one), it's hard live with Garmins.
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